SOUTH WAYNE - Ten seasons ago, in 2009, Black Hawk made it to the state tournament in girls basketball for the first time in program history. The run was short lived as Potosi knocked off the Warriors in the Division 4 semifinal 49-42 on March 13 of that year.

"It was my birthday, I remember it," now-Black Hawk freshman Bailey Butler said. "I was just screaming every time she scored. It was awesome."

Bailey and her sister Hannah, a sophomore, were at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison watching their older sister, Paige, on that fateful day nine years ago. Paige, a 2009 Black Hawk graduate, scored 11 points in the game as Potosi rallied in the fourth quarter. Paige's point guard in that game for Black Hawk was Gabi (Lehner) Wolard, now an assistant coach for the Warriors. On Friday, the younger Butler sisters will have their opportunity to shine in front of TV cameras as they play in a WIAA Division 5 state semifinal game.

"(Paige) said to work hard, because when she was up there they worked hard but didn't make it," Bailey said.

Some elements of the game have changed a little bit at the prep girls level in Wisconsin. For one, the state games are now held at the Resch Center in Green Bay. Second, the games are now played in two 18-minute halves, compared to four eight-minute quarters. And third, in 2009 there were only four divisions instead of today's five.

However, this much is still the same: Black Hawk is still coached by Mike Flanagan, the ball dimensions are still 28.5 inches in circumference, the hoop is still 10 feet high and the object of the game is still to put the ball through the hoop for more points than the other team. And, of course, the Butler family will be there cheering on the Warriors - except for mom, Angie, who is one of Flanagan's assistant coaches.

"(Paige) just said to play your heart out, because you never know when it's going to end," Hannah said.

Paige, who was last listed in a basketball program at 5-foot-9, scored 1,088 points in three years for Black Hawk, averaging 14.9 points per game over the course of three seasons on varsity.

Hannah, at 5-8, has scored 665 points in just two years of varsity play, an average of 13.6 ppg. She's on pace to surpass her older sister if not next year as a junior then during the 2019-20 season as a senior.

Bailey is listed at 5-7 and is on a scoring streak unlike both of her sisters. Her 425 points this season are the most in any of the six varsity seasons of the Butler girls who played at state. Being just a freshman, Bailey has the potential to catch up to Black Hawk's all-time scoring leader, UW-Green Bay junior Jen Wellnitz, who finished with 1,580 points.

"I had the fortune of coaching Jen Wellnitz of UW-Green Bay. (She's) a phenomenal athlete, and this younger Butler kid is an incredible athlete and has some good basketball pedigree to boot," Flanagan said.

Though just a freshman, Bailey does more than just score points. She's a hard-nosed defender, traces down loose balls like a heat-seeking missile and by herself can energize not just the players on the floor but the entire Warrior Nation with a big play and reaction.

Her 42 percent success rate from beyond the arc helps, too.

"We knew how good she (Bailey) was. We knew that she was going to contribute right away. You never know how they are going to jump from eighth grade to varsity, but she's been everything that we believed she could be and more," Flanagan said.

Like all siblings, the Butlers have their own rivalry going on.

"Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad. Sometimes I have to get on her and tell her to get going," Hannah said of Bailey. "It's a good rivalry."

Bailey suggested there may even be side bets, like most rebounds in a game. However, in the end, it's just the game that matters.

"We always work hard in practice, and it's paying off," Bailey said. "I always have someone I can relate to on the floor. She's a good defender, I'm a good defender - if I don't want to guard someone, she can guard them."

Hannah is also a versatile athlete and a scoring threat. She averaged 15.8 points per game as a freshman a year ago and has shot a consistent 45 percent in each of her first two years. She is shooting 38.6 percent in her career from beyond the arc, including a 37.6 mark this season.

With sophomore Natalie Leuzinger (17.2 ppg), the defending Six Rivers East player of the year, Black Hawk has three top-of-the-line scoring threats. Along with a smothering press, Black Hawk has won each game by an average of 40 points this year. A season ago, the only loss came in the regional final to Fall River when Leuzinger was out with a hip injury. That means the Warriors are 48-1 over the last two seasons, and the prospects seem high for the next two years as well.

With such expectations based on pure talent, Flanagan reached out to past players looking for that final inspiration for his current group.

"We did something this year that I thought was a good idea. I reached out to a lot of the kids who had played at state before and I asked them to write letters about A) what the experience meant to them, and B) what they believed it took for their teammates and them to get there," Flanagan said. "I think those have been a real asset to us. We pull those out once in a while. I think that hearing those voices from the past is a real inspiration for the kids. And it provides a lot of direction for them."

The Butlers and their Black Hawk teammates leave this morning for Green Bay. The team will practice this afternoon in Green Bay but may not take in a game before Friday's 9 a.m. WIAA Division 5 semifinal against Wausau Newman Catholic.

"I don't know if we'll go on Thursday. We could take them in to see it, but we don't ever go into an arena before we play in it. So, part of me just wants to make sure we make it as normal as possible. That's priority No. 1. You want to rise to the occasion, but you don't want the occasion to be magnified any more than it has to be."